Monday, September 07, 2015

"Everything's a Miracle" / Greg Trooper

One of my favorite singer-songwriters, working the (to me) sweet spot between folk and roots rock. And I'm saddened to see that Greg has cancelled several fall shows because of some health setbacks. Love to you, Greg, and all prayers and best wishes. Because a guy who can crank out tracks like this (from 2013's brilliant Incident on Willow Street) is part of what makes being a music fan totally worthwhile.

Greg has long been one of our premier chroniclers of mature love. "We once walked in thunder and lightning / And we once sang a simple harmony / And I said babe, oh my child, / Those are not miracles / And she said, [wait for it] / "Everything's a miracle to me."

And when that undeniable reality is laid out there -- how can we resist? "She loved holding hands / She loved certain hard rock bands / She loved that mean old man who loves just across the street." And here's the kicker -- he broke up with her ("I had to cut her loose").

But somehow she gets the last laugh, as she insists, "Babe, it's a miracle to me." And having been indoctrinated into her open-minded perspective -- as GT ever-so-subtly steers us -- we're on her side.

Who's the winner here? The guy who resists miracles, or the woman who believes in them? Or -- let's go a stratum deeper -- the songwriter who set up the dichotomy in the first place?

I know where my money is invested.

Love you, GT. Thanks for the years of music you've given me. And if my prayers can help, you've got' em.